e^^otinters 

of  the  i8th  &'  19th 
Century 


3  yr/  VjXAyfM 


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tiCHv  Caroline  price 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Ptr. 
John    Jones,  Esq. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    NOTES  OF 

XVIII  ii  XIX  CENTURY 
MEZZ  O  TINTERS 

NOT  MENTIONED  IN  OUR 
TWO  PREVIOUS  BROCHURES 


NEW    YORK 

M.  Knoedler  &  Co. 

FIFTH  AVENUE  AT  THIRTY-FOURTH  ST. 
1905 


PUBLISHED    AND    COPYRIGHTED 
BY 

^.   EnocUIer  &  €a, 

355  FIFTH  AVE.,   N.  Y. 
MCMV 


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One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  English 
writers  on  the  subject,  Alfred  Whitman,  says: 
"  Fine  mezzotints  appeal  to  the  least  cultivated 
mind,  while  to  the  student  and  art  amateur 
they  are  a  never-ending  source  of  fascination 
and  delight." 

In  the  previous  pamphlets  due  consideration 
of  a  number  of  fine  engravers  was  foregone,  the 
object  of  these  preliminary  studies  being,  as 
stated,  to  call  attention  to  only  the  greatest 
men  in  the  profession.  In  order,  therefore,  to 
treat  the  subject  more  comprehensively  and 
completely  there  are  now  added  brief  accounts 
of  a  number  of  good  scrapers,  some  of  them 
far  above  the  average,  who  extend  the  field 
surveyed  well  into  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  fine  old  mezzotints  made  upon  copper 
showed  signs  of  wear  after  twenty  or  thirty 
impressions  had  been  taken  from  a  plate.  This 
accounts  for  the  great  scarcity  and  value  of 
fine  prints.  At  the  present  day  it  is  the  cus- 
tom to  "  steel  face  "  the  copperplates  by  means 


of  an  electrolytic  process,  wbcreb}^  they  are 
enabled  to  yield  a  great  number  of  fine  impres- 
sions. 

The  old  mezzotints  being  upon  copper  the 
grounding  was  much  more  tender  and  velvety 
than  when  the  plates  from  which  they  were 
produced  were  of  steel.  Mezzotinting  upon 
this  metal  was  introduced  by  William  Say  in 
1820,  his  first  subject  being  the  portrait  of 
Queen  Caroline,  from  which  plate  1200  impres- 
sions were  taken.  There  is  noticeable  in  prints 
taken  from  steel  plates  a  certain  hardness 
which  does  not  appear  in  impressions  from 
copper  plates. 

Richard    Tompson    and    Alexander    Browne 
Httbarll     flourished  about  1690.     It  is  uncertain  whether 
ComDBOtl  they  engraved  or  scraped.     It  is  known  that  at 
2)irtJ    1693'^^^t  they  published  fifty  or  more  plates  bear- 
ing the  inscription  "  Tompson  excudit."    They 
were  the  first  to  issue  "  Counter   Proofs."     A 
SllfiranlJCt   Counter  Proof  is  a  reverse  impression,  printed 
norolsne     from  a  proof  on  paper  subjected  to  great  press- 
ure  while   it   is   still   wet   and   heavily   charged 
with    ink.      Thompson    engraved    the    portrait    of 
Nell  Gwynne  and  her  two  sons. 


The  years  which  include  his  most  notable 
works  are  those  from  1680-1700.  His  skilful 
rendering  of  details  \vas  most  distinguished  and 
showed  that  he  understood  the  capabilities  of 
his  art.  He  scraped  a  number  of  portraits  after 
Lely,  Kneller,  Dahl,  Wissing,  and  Van  Dyck. 


l^ilUams 


The  last  of  the  mezzotint  artists  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century  was   Robert  White,  who   did      Hofacvt 
his  best  work  between  1680-1683.     He  was  con-      ^l)ttC 
sidered   a   better    line    engraver    than    scraper.  1 645-- 1 70  4 
He,    however,    showed    considerable    talent    in 
his  mezzotint  portraits. 

He  was  the  son  of  Robert  White  and  pro- 
duced  work   of   no   small   importance   between 
1714  and   1731.      Before   devoting   his   time   to 
mezzotint  work  he  took  up  portrait  painting 
and  line  engraving.     He  it  was  to  whom  was     (^eatat 
given  the  credit  of  etching  the  subject  before      ^httP 
grounding,  a  method  followed  by  Richard  Ear- 1^71,173^ 
lom  and  others.     He  also  used  the  graver  for       ^bottt 
adding  the  black  spot  in  the  eyes.     He  did  not 
produce  m.any  portraits.     The  notable  position 
he  holds  in  the  art  was  due  to  his  introduction 
of  this  preliminary  etching  the  subject  before 
anything  else  was  done. 


Eldest  son  of  the  famous  line  engraver.     He 

was  a  mezzotint  scraper  of  distinction,  and  if 

^illtam     '^^  ^^^  "°^  fallen  into  dissipated  habits  would 

jr_;,. ,  ^ have  attained  more  of  the  quality  of  his  most 

JFaitoprnt     ^  , ,  ^  u  j     u     ^ 

inriroi""  contemporaries.      He   engraved   about 

fifty    portraits,    besides    allegorical    and    other 
subjects. 

This  engraver,  the  rival  of  John  Smith,  was 
of  Hugenot  descent,  and  came  to  England  in 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.     He 
practised  line  engraving  in   Paris,  but  gave  it 
up  after  reaching  London,  where   he   devoted 
his  entire  time  to  mezzotint,  becoming  a  mas- 
ter of  the  art  in  a  short  time.     His  skill  was  so 
great    that    he    was    selected    by    Sir    Godfrey 
^Toljn       Kneller  after  the  latter's  falling  out  with  John 
Simon     Smith,    and    engraved   over    forty   of   his    por- 
1675=1751  traits   besides   many  from   Dahl,   Murray,   and 
9[lJ0Ut      Gibson.     He   did  not  confine   himself  to  por- 
traits, though  of  these  he  executed  nearly  200, 
but  engraved  many  Biblical  and  fancy  subjects. 
Ele  was  greatly  influenced  by  John  Smith,  but 
was  not  up  to  his  level  in  drawing  and  arrange- 
ment of  details;  but  nevertheless  when  at  his 
best  his  plates  were  excellent. 


As  did  his  father  he  engraved  several  series 
of  plates.  These  included  twelve  Hampton 
Court  Beauties,  five  Philosophers  of  England, 
ten  Sovereigns  of  England,  and  forty-three 
Kit-Cat  Club.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  know- 
that  this  last  named  club  comprised  forty-eight 
members  who  met  at  a  tavern  in  Shire  Lane, 
off  Fleet  Street,  in  London,  called  the  "  Cat 
and  Fiddle,"  and  kept  by  one  Christopher  Cat. 
The  club  also  held  meetings  at  Barn  Elms,  at 
the  house  of  Jacob  Jonson,  who  built  a  room 
for  their  purposes.  He  commissioned  Sir  God- 
frey Kneller  to  paint  portraits  of  the  members, 
having  them  made  of  uniform  size  to  fit  the 
spaces  arranged  for  them.  This  size  (36x28  3I^oI)ll 
inches)  afterwards  became  known  as  "  Kit-jfabcr,  ^X. 
Cat,"  which  allowed  of  a  portrait  a  little  over  16 84= 1 75  6 
half-length.  The  twelve  Hampton  Court  Beau- 
ties were  all  full-length  in  their  original  state, 
but  were  afterwards  cut  down  to  three-quarter 
length  and  retouched  by  Faber.  (He  was 
noted  for  this  practice.)  He  produced  some 
500  plates.  He  was  a  careful  and  finished 
worker,  but  was  at  his  best  in  the  later  years 
of  his  life  when  he  showed  a  brilliancy  that 
compares  favorably  with  the  best  work  of  his 
time. 


Ill  was  in  1727  that  Peter  PelKam  engraved 

the  portrait  of  Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  the  first 

mezzotint  executed  in  America.      Before  leav- 

DctCl*       '"^    England,   the  year  previous,  he   engraved 

Iklbam     ^"^  published  a  number  of  plates.    He  married 

16S4--173S^^  his  second  wife  the  mother  of  John  Single- 

SlbOUt       *°"  Copley,  teaching  him  the  first  beginnings 

of  his  art.    Pelham's  mezzotint  work  is  darker 

than  usual,  owing  to  his  heavy  handling  of  the 

rocker. 

The  foregoing  mezzotint  scrapers  are  among 

the    first    period,    towards    the    end    of    which 

mezzotint    engraving    was    falling   into    decay. 

There  were  very  few  good  workers,  none  to 

STboimS    compare  with  those  at  the  end  of  the  seven- 

•IScaril       teenth    century.      The    real    turning-point    for 

jFlOUrisbclJ  ^^^   great  period  took  place   in   Dublin   when 

in  172S    Thomas   Beard,  whom  many  think  was   born 

in    England,    was    the    first    exponent,    having 

engraved   the   first  mezzotint  in   Ireland.     His 

works  are  not  numerous,  but  his  name  deserves 

to  be  remembered  as  the  first  man  to  produce 

a  mezzotint  in  the  Emerald  Isle.     He  probably 

learned  to  scrape  from  John  Brooks,  who  was 

^nlirctD      mentioned    in    a    previous    pamphlet. 

ffiillcr  Andrew  Miller,  Ireland,  was  a  pupil  of  Faber, 

1750       ^^•'   commencing  work  in   1737,  continuing  in 


Ireland  until   1743  with  success,  producing  up-     SllltltetD 
wards  of  sixty  plates  which  are  rarely  offered      ;PliUer 

for  sale.  (contintteti) 

These  three  men,  Brooks,  Beard,  and  Miller, 
were  the  men  who  revived  the  art  and  the 
pioneers  of  the  greatest  period  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  To  Brooks  especially  should 
be  given  credit  for  establishing  a  school  which 
numbered  among  its  pupils  some  of  the  most 
illustrious  engravers. 

Most  of  the  pupils  of  Brooks  were  intemper- 
ate, so  that  although  they  all  showed  evidence 
of  unusual  ability  they  did  not,  owing  to  their 
vicious  habits,  arrive  at  the  point  they  should 
have   reached. 


fobtt 
—1760 


Produced  a  few  plates  in  Dublin,  which,  like 
those  of  Purcell's,  are  very  rare.  His  work 
was  not  of  great  importance,  owing  to  intem- 
perance. He  died  when  about  forty  years  old, 
having  produced  about  fifty  plates.  He  was 
much  attached  to  McArdell,  asking  that  he 
might  be  buried  beside  him,  a  request  which 
was  granted  in  December,  1767. 

Ford   did  not  move   to   England  as  most   of       JForU, 
his  fellow-pupils  did,  but  remained  in  Dublin, 
succeeding  eventually  to  Brooks'  business.   His 


mezzotints    are    very    scarce.      It    is    supposed 

Michael    ^'^^^     '^^    ^^'^^     drowned    when     the     "  Dublin 

JForll        Trader,"  which  left  Parkgate  for  Dublin  Oc- 

(continUfll)  ^ber   28,    1758,    presumably   founded,    as   neither 

the  vessel  nor  he  was  ever  heard  of  afterwards. 


|)ottB;ton, 
17214  775 


Houston  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  a  fel- 
low-pupil  with    McArdell   under   Brooks,  with 
whom  he  came  to   London.     There  seems  to 
|.  be   good   reason   to   believe   that   as   has   been 

•^^^  ,  ^iy J, suggested  he  might  have  excelled  his  fellow- 
pupil,  McArdell,  had  his  habits  been  more  tem- 
perate. His  execution  was  strong  and  bold, 
also  tender  and  delicate  as  required.  He 
scraped  over  160  plates. 

He    scraped    a   small    number   of   plates    be- 
tween 1748  and  1755,  which  are  now  very  rare. 
Ktcl^atl]    Like    Houston,    he    contracted    vicious    habits, 
lUurCCll,     which   led   him   into   financial    difficulties.      He 
1736=1765  Migraved  a  great  many  copies  for  the  publisher 
Sayer,  on  some  of  which  the  names  of  Charles 
or    Phillip    Corbutt   appear;    while    others    are 
without    the    name    of    any    engraver.      These 
plates    are    often    well    done — as    copies.      His 
original  work  shows  evidence  of  what  would 


10 


have  been  his  ultimate  success  had  he  not  fallen  lS.itl)arIl 
into  bad  habits.  He  engraved  upwards  of  lOO  pttrCfU 
plates.  1736-1765 

Of  Michael  Jackson,  Ireland,  little  is  known,  (continutll) 
he  having  scraped  but  a  few  plates,  the  most 
memorable  of  which  were   "  Nancy   Dawson " 
and   "  Peg   Woffington."     He    is    supposed    to     -|Kitl)ael 
have    been    an    Irishman    and    companion    of    '^jttlBOn 
Houston,   Spruce,   and   Purcell. 

Was  in  early  life  employed  by  a  hatter,  and 
is  supposed  to  have  learned  the  scrapers'  art     ©  itoarH 
from  McArdell.     He  did  some  very  fine  work,      ^  t6l)cr 
in     style     resembling     McArdell.      The    plate  ^73  0=1 785 
which  is  considered  his  finest  achievement  is 
"  Hope  Nursing  Love,"  after  Reynolds,  a  work 
which  compares  favorably  with  any  mezzotint. 
He  scraped  some  seventy  to  eighty  plates,  his 
principal  work  being  done   from   1758-1781. 


He  was  originally  a  silver  plate  engraver.  Af- 
terwards he  took  up  mezzotinting,  establishing  'Tlnhn 
himself  as  a  fine  scraper  in  London  when  about  T)frnn 
twenty-five  years  old.    He  engraved  some  large  aSpfnrp 


important  plates  in  1773.  When  he  was  about 
thirty-five  years  old — he  was  a  fine  looking  man 
— he  married  an  heiress,  and  gave  up  to  a  large 
extent  the  practise  of  scraping  to  only  making 

11 


1740^780 


a  plate  now  and  then  as  a  pastime.     His  touch 
was  delicate  and  refined,  or  bold  and  strong. 
A  number  of  his  works  are  much  sought  after, 
^nhn       "otably    Miss     Emma    and    Elizabeth    Crewe, 
3)iron      -^^^^^   Reynolds,  and   Miss   Davidson.      Of  the 
1740  ITSo'^*^^^""  ^^^''^  ^^^  only  a  few  to  be  found,  for  the 
/jjj_jj_„.>,v  subject  having  met  with  an  untimeely  death, 
the  family  had  the  plate  and  as  many  impres- 
sions as  they  could  obtain,  destroyed. 

Was  an  engraver  of  a  most  distinctive  char- 
acter. His  works  were  nearly  all  done  in  the 
last  two  years  of  his  life.  He  did  not  devote 
his  lifetime  to  scraping,  but  worked  upon  can- 
vas, painting  a  number  of  notable  portraits. 
He  also  devoted  a  considerable  part  of  his  time 
(Zlpomag  jQ  ^hg  making  of  china,  for  which  he  gained  a 
jrrpf.  great  reputation.  The  undertaking  was  not 
17  iO--i7o2p]-Qspgj.Qj,g^  partly  owing  to  the  heavy  tax 
upon  the  clay,  which  was  brought  from  South 
Carolina,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  the  glaz- 
ing was  not  a  success.  The  work  turned  out, 
however,  was  elegant  in  design  and  decoration, 
all  of  which  was  due  to  Frye.  From  the  ruins 
of  the  factory  arose  those  of  Chelsea  and  Wor- 
cester. He  ruined  his  health  working  over  the 
furnaces  for  fifteen  years,  and  was  obliged  to 
give  it  up,  removing  to  Wales  for  his  health 

12 


where  he  painted  portraits  to  pay  expenses. 
Returning  after  a  year  to  London  he  took  up 
scraping  again  and  did  his  most  notable  work, 
producing  a  series  of  eighteen  life-size  heads 
of  men  and  women,  of  many  of  which  the  sub-  ^iJtin^afi 
ject  is  unknown.  Frye  when  unable  to  obtain  a  ^^^V^ 
sitting  from  some  notable  personage  was  ac-  '^^ 

customed  to  make  a  sketch  in  the  theatre.  He  ^tORtinutll) 
became  so  well  known  that  when  any  one  was 
conscious  of  being  sketched  by  him  he  or  she 
would  take  a  position  to  enable  him  to  work 
more  readily.  Queen  Charlotte  was  one  of 
the  notables  to  do  so.  These  sketches,  trans- 
lated by  him  into  mezzotints,  are  of  great 
beauty  and  most  difficult  to  procure.  The 
family  of  the  late  Lady  Charlotte  Schreiber 
have  in  their  possession  one  of  the  finest  com- 
plete sets.  Frye  died  in  his  fifty-second  year 
of  consumption,  the  disease  being  contracted 
by  dieting  for  corpulency  and  gout.  Two  years 
after  his  death  the  following  appeared  in  "  The 
Gentleman's  Magazine":  "No  one  was  more 
happy  in  delineating  the  human  countenance. 
He  had  the  correctness  of  Van  Dyck  and  the 
coloring  of  Rubens.  In  miniature  painting  he 
equalled  if  not  excelled  the   famous   Cooper." 


13 


This    artist   was    one   who    marks    the   com- 
mencement of  the  great  period.     He  lived  from 
about  1730  to  1776,  and  did  his  best  work  dur- 
ing the  last  ten  years  of  his  life.     Many  of  his 
plates  are  large  and  show  considerable  knowl- 
edge.    They  must,  however,  be  seen  at  a  dis- 
tance  to   be   fully   appreciated.      He   engraved 
3rol)ll       about  thirty  plates  and  gained  two  premiums 
JFialapfiOn  ^^  the  Society  of  Arts  and  was  a  member  of 
1730=1776'^''^'^    Free   Society   of   Artists.      His   work  was 
Stbout      varied  in  its  excellence,  some  plates  being  very 
good,  others  exceedingly  poor.     The  ground- 
ing of  his  plates   indicates   different  handling 
or  methods  which   may  be  accounted   for  by 
the  fact  that  many  engravers   employed  their 
pupils  to  do  this  work.     Very  little  is  known 
of  his  life. 

A  publisher,  line  engraver  and  scraper  of  a  few 

plates  of  considerable  merit,  Watts  flourished  from 

1770  to  1786.     His  portrait  of  Joseph  Baretti, 

an   Italian,   after   Reynolds,   attracts    more   at- 

3ro|)n       tention  than  any  other,  not  only  from  the  fact 

^att£t       of  its  being  one  of  his  best  plates,  but  because 

1 — 7       the  subject  was  a  great  friend  of  Dr.  Johnson 

and  was  one  of  the  principals  in  a  brawl  in  the 

Haymarket  in  which  a  man  was  stabbed.     Ba- 


ll 


retti  was  tried   for  the   murder,  but  acquitted, 
on   the   ground   of  self-defence.      He   was   ap- 
pointed Secretary  for  Foreign  Correspondence       '7[t\hn 
to   the    Royal   Academy.      He   was   teacher   of       ^att« 
Italian  and  an  author.     About  the  life  of  the  /,>»4.;„^«>,\ 
engraver  very  little  information  is  obtainable. 

The  most  noted  scraper  of  candlelight  sub- 
jects, although  he  was  a  master  of  portraiture 
as  well.     His   greatest  plates   are   after   Rem- 
brandt   and    Wright    of    Derby.      The    latter's 
works    are    principally    candlelighted    pictures, 
and    Pether    rendered    them    with    astonishing 
ability  in  black  and  white.     Pether  was  a  rest- 
less man  who  was  not  satisfied  to  remain  in     l^tUtam 
one   place,   frequently   changing  his   residence      f)ctl)er 
from  London  to  the  provinces  and  back  again.  1738-1821 
Unfortunately,  he  outlived  his  popularity,  mak- 
ing but  few  plates  in  the  last  years  of  his  life, 
but  devoting  his  time  to  teaching,  drawing,  and 
cleaning  pictures.     He  was  over  eighty  years 
old  when  he  died. 

Was  a  protege  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  who 

brought  him  from  Italy  when  he  was  but  fif-  ®MtSBfpf 
teen  years  old,  and  made  him  his  assistant  to     itlarcpt 

help   him   in    his   less   important   work,   paying  i«^''-lS08 


15 


him  a  small  sum  for  his  services  of  six  months. 
Some  time  after  he  took  up  mezzotinting  and 
for  ten  or  twelve  years  produced  a  few  plates 
which  displayed  great  skill.  Sir  Joshua  was  of 
great  assistance  to  him.  Although  his  work 
was  brilliant  and  brought  him  fame  it  lacked 
individuality.  Living  as  he  did  during  the 
(SttiBCppc  period  of  the  greatest  scrapers,  his  style  was 
;fHarc!)i  not  distinctive  enough  to  be  separated  from 
(continued) them.  He  found,  after  Reynolds'  death,  that 
the  occupation  of  cleaner  and  restorer  of  his 
master's  pictures  was  an  occupation  much  more 
lucrative  and  so  devoted  himself  to  it.  Prob- 
ably his  greatest  work  is  Miss  Cholmondeley 
carrying  a  dog  across  a  brook. 

Was  in  his  zenith  about  1780.     He  engraved 

13l)iltp       a  number  of  candlelight  pictures  after  his  mas- 

©atDC       ter,  George  Henry  Morland.    He  worked  also  un- 

^ttlJ    17S0der  Hogarth.     His  work  was  full  of  merit,  being 

Sbout      very   carefully   finished,   but    having   a   certain 

hardness. 

1730=1795     There   were   two  brothers,   John   and   Jona- 

anij         than.     Jonathan  was  a  map  drafter  and  orna- 

5ronatj)ail  ment  engraver,  while  John  kept  a  print  shop 

^njIgtjtttT)  '^i^d  published  a  number  of  Jonathan's  mezzo- 


16 


tints,  which  were  simply  signed  "  J.  Spilsbury, 

Fecit."    This  fact  has  led  to  a  confusion  which 

prevented  the  separation  of  the  two  brothers, 

making  the  history  of  Jonathan  most  difficult 

to   detetrmine.      So   little   is   positively   known 

that  the  dates  of  his  birth  and  death  have  never      'J^'O'^ 

been  satisfactorily  settled.     It  is  known,  how- 1 '30-1795 

ever,  that   his   last  contribution  to  the   exhibi-  ^'^•' 

tion  of  the  British  Institution  was  in  1807.    His   ilobatOan 

most   commendable   work   was   the   portrait   of  ■*  P"^°^'^P» 

Miss  Jacobs,  after  Reynolds,  for  which  the  So-C^^'^*^'^^^^) 

ciety  of  Arts  awarded  him  a   premium.     One 

authority  states   that  Jonathan   Spilsbury  was 

a   portrait    painter.      He   produced    some    fifty 

plates  during  thirty  years. 

Was  a  young  man  when  he  commenced  his 
career  as  a  scraper,  for  he  gained  a  Society  of 
Arts   premium  when   he  was   only  twenty-one 
years    old.      James    Watson,    his    partner    and     William 
senior  by  three  years,  of  whom  we  have  pre- ^  tcfeinson, 
viously  made  mention,  was  an   artist  of  very  1 746  ^l  823 
much  the  same  style  as  Dickinson.    Their  com- 
bining   together    in    the    publishing    business 
was  considered  a  very  fortunate  circumstance. 


17 


In  their  work  they  closely  resembled  one  an- 
other, which   resulted  to   their  mutual   advan- 
tage.     Dickinson    scraped    about    lOO    plates, 
^iHtam    ^^^    ^    highly    accomplished    craftsman    and 
TT^i.t;«-,>«  worked   with    great    delicacy   of   finish.      Most 
/'.««+;«-^'»,N^i  his  work  was  portraiture.     He  made  a  large 
^  Opiate  showmg  George  III.  seated  m  his  coro- 

nation chair.     The   head  was   altered  to  look 
older  some  years  afterwards. 

In  style  he  resembled  Earlom,  although  he 
is   believed   to   have    been    a   pupil    of    Pether. 
His  work  is  considered  good,  his   great  fault 
being    in    drawing,    in    which    he    was    notice- 
ably deficient.     Living  as  he  did  at  the  time 
when  the  greatest  masters  were  exhibiting  their 
Kahcrt     works  he  loses  much  by  comparison.     Never- 
aDuTlfearton  theless    he    produced    some    admirable    plates, 
1744-1  SI 7working  industriously  from  1770  to  181 1.     One 
»li)Otlt      of  his  best  portraits  was  that  of  Mrs.  Horneck, 
after  Reynolds.     He  commenced  his  career  as 
a  portrait  painter,  but  did  not  continue  after 
1779.     It  is  believed  that  he  died  before  1817, 
as  his  name  is  not  mentioned  in  an  art  publi- 
cation of  that  date.     He  engraved  many  book 
illustrations. 


18 


i^v6,   -BratitiPll 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Ptr. 

Samuel  Cousins,  Esq. 


Was  both  a  stipple  and  a  mezzotint  en- 
graver. His  list  of  portraits  in  mezzotint  num- 
bers thirteen,  but  he  made  a  number  of  animal 
subjects.  His  most  important  being  a 
"  Tyger,"  after  Northcote,  and  a  "  Tigress,"  __j 
after  Stubbs.  These  are  uncommonly  fine.  ^  "^^ 
The  date  of  his  death  is  unknown.  He  was 
still  living  in  1820.  His  greatest  period  was 
between  1780  until  the  first  few  years  of  the 
nineteenth   century. 


1748-1800 
9lbout 


In  the  early  stage  of  his  life  Townley  prac- 
ticed the  painting  of  portraits  upon  ivory.    He 
studied  in  Italy  and  Germany  and  made  a  num- 
ber   of    plates    in    Berlin,    among   them    being    CIjarlCE! 
Frederick  II.  of  Prussia,  Prince  Frederick  with    SCotunlCp 
Frantzein,  Catherine  II.,  of  Russia,  Count  Orlofif.1746-1800 
Some  of  his  plates  are  dated  1800.   He  probably       siOOUt 
died  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The   work   of   this   artist   was    quite    ordinary. 
Probably  his  best  plate  was  that  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  with  hat  and  academic  gown,  done 
under  the  eye  of  Sir  Joshua. 


19 


Was  the  son  of  a  sea  captain.  At  an  early 
age  he  became  a  pupil  of  the  eminent  engraver, 
Valentine  Green,  from  whom  he  acquired  a 
great  knowledge  of  the  art.  He  worked  upon 
a  number  of  portraits  in  England  until  1784, 
when  he  went  to  Russia,  having  been  selected 
as  engraver  to  Her  Imperial  Majesty,  Empress 
Catherine.  Here  he  remained  for  seventeen 
years.  There  is  a  marked  difference  in  those 
plates  done  in  England,  owing,  it  is  surmised, 
2fainr8i  to  the  difference  of  the  metal,  Russian  copper 
i^altltr  being  much  the  harder.  The  English  plates 
1748:1808  are  considered  the  finer.  Walker's  technical 
skill  was  great.  There  are  not  many  of  his 
Russian  plates  in  existence,  they  having  been 
lost  at  sea  while  en  route  for  England,  owing 
to  the  wreck  of  the  ship  in  which  they  were 
being  carried.  Probably  the  best  Russian  plate 
was  after  Rembrandt's  "  Old  Woman  and  a 
Boy  Reading." 

Probably   one    of  the    most    delicate    of   the 

mezzotint  scrapers.     Many  of  his  productions 

appear  weak  and  worn.     He,  however,  stood 

3lO0ll  aI)caTlhigh  and  was  much  sought  after  and  selected 

1 750=1 798^0   engrave   many   of   the   children   painted   by 

Sir    Joshua.      His    work    must    be    closely   and 


20 


carefully    examined    to    be    fully    appreciated. 
One  will  find  in  it  the  touch  of  a  delicate  and 
refined  hand.     His  style  is  quite  individual.    He 
was  a  pupil  of  Valentine  Green.     John  Dean_^ 
and    James    Walker   were    most    successful    in-^      *        ii 
rendering     the     works     of     George     Romney.  ^  / 

Many  of  Dean's  plates  and  prints  were  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1889.  The  plates  which  best 
illustrated  his  style  are  "  Cupid  as  a  Link  Boy," 
and  "  Alercury  as  a  Pickpocket,"  painted  by 
Reynolds  and  engraved  in   1777. 


Started  his  career  as  a  pupil  of  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  remaining  with  him  about  three 
j-ears.  Not  being  successful  in  painting  por- 
traits he  turned  his  attention  to  mezzotint 
engraving,  in  which  he  did  some  good  work. 
His  plates  are  nearly  all  dated  1779,  and  of 
six  portraits  mentioned  by  Chaloner  Smith 
four  were  after  his  master,  Sir  Joshua,  one  by 
Gardiner,  and  one  portrait  of  himself,  possibly 
by  himself.  In  1780  he  left  England  for  Ben- 
gal. The  ship  was  captured  and  put  into  Lis- 
bon, where  he  died.  One  of  his  best  works  is 
the  portrait  of  William  Mason,  after  Reynolds. 


William 
?— IS72 


21 


Produced  but  few  plates,  devoting  most  of 

CbotnaS    '^'^  time  to  literary  pursuits,  in  which  he  be- 

Dartl       came  very  distinguished.     His  most  important 

17604835  work  was  the  portrait  after  Reynolds  of  John 

Thomas,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  in  robes.     Very 

fine. 


7— ? 


17504817 


Was  not  distinguished,  having  done  about  a 
dozen  portraits,  which  showed  finish  and  great 
comprehension  of  the  art.  His  works  range 
from  1782  to  1793. 

Was  a  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Alderman 
John  Boydell,  to  whose  business  he  was  ad- 
mitted as  a  partner,  and  upon  the  death  of  his 
uncle  was  elected  alderman  in  his  place.  He 
was  a  pupil  of  Richard  Earlom,  and  displayed 
considerable  talent.  There  are  five  portraits 
catalogued  by  him.  He  also  executed  a  num- 
ber of  subject  pieces.  He  was  a  devotee  of 
art,  and  painted  a  number  of  pictures,  some  of 
which  have  been  engraved. 


Pupil   of  John  Dixon.     He   executed   a  few 

Cl)Ontafii    portraits  in  mezzotint,  but  devoted  his  time  to 

•^Sttrtie,      the    chalk    method,    producing    a    number    of 

17494815  works  after  Angelica  Kauffman,  with  whom  he 

was  a  special  favorite. 


22 


Was    a    nephew    and    pupil    of    Sir    Thomas 
Gainsborough.      It  was   not,   however,   by  the 
portraits  he  painted  that  he  gained  a  reputa- 
tion,  for  they  were  not  of  the  highest  class.         , 
He    succeeded    much    better    in    his    scraping,  *^3inB0Or5 
particularly    so    in    his    productions    after    his^^^^       *^*' 

uncle's  paintings.     They  were  nearly  fac-sim-  .     P 

1767  1707 
iles  of  them  in  black  and  white,  the  master's  '"^ '-"='• 

distinguishing  characteristics  being  all  repro- 
duced. If  Dupont  had  lived  longer  we  might 
have  had  more  graceful  and  elegant  full-length 
portraits  after  Gainsborough  to  place  beside 
those  of  Reynolds. 

An  engraver  whose  work  did  not  stand  out 
prominently  among  those  of  the  great  masters,     J'^^fPO 
nevertheless    he    attained    a    notable    position,     ^^O^CV 
and  would  have  been  considered  greater  had^^"^*  1755 
his  work  not  suffered  by  being  brought  into'**^^^'*^  1799 
contact   with   that   of   the   very   highest    class. 
He  possessed  many  pleasing  qualities. 

He  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  pupil  of  J.  R(£,|)arlcfi    ft). 
Smith.     He  left  England  in   1794  for  Amster-     J)ol3ffCB 
dam.    His  best  works  were  done  previously  to  I7044S37 
this  date — 1784-89.    Frequently  in  the  ground- 
ing of  his  plates  his  work  was  so  coarse  as  to 


23 


produce  the  effect  of  stipple.  He  scraped  about 
thirty-eight  portraits,  one,  the  well-known  sub- 
ject of  "The  Guardian  Angels,"  alter  Reynolds, 

Sharif g  to  '^"^  ^^'^  finest  work  was  that  after  his  own  por- 
K..j^^     trait  of  Rutger  Hans  Schmmelpenninck,  for  he 

/'«.^«*i«..^'>.\was  a  painter  also.  He  was  a  clever  workman, 
having  the  faculty  of  reproducing  the  spirit 
of  the  original.  For  all  his  talent  he  was  not 
financially  successful,  and  after  getting  into 
difficulties  he  left  England  and  turned  his  at- 
tention to  collecting  prints  and  plates  for  print 
sellers  in  England.  He  died  in  Amsterdam  in 
1837. 

Was  a  pupil  of  J.   R.   Smith  and  succeeded 
him  in  business.     He  was  a  man  of  many  good 
qualities   and   a   good   scraper,   although    there 
or  .  was   a   feeling   of  heaviness   in   his   work.      He 

?9nnntr  I'^^d  at  a  time  when  it  was  the  fashion  to 
•  -^cig^c  engrave  scenes  from  the  popular  plays.  Prob- 
ably his  best  plate  represents  a  prizefight  be- 
tween Broughton  and  Stevenson.  He  was  ap- 
pointed engraver  in  mezzotint  to  the  Prince 
of  Wales  in  1789,  Keeper  to  the  British  Insti- 
tution about  1813,  and  was  Honorary  Secre- 
tary to  the  Artists'  Benevolent  Fund.  After 
1820  he  made  a  series  of  outline  engravings 
from  the  pictures  in  some  of  the  celebrated 
galleries. 

?A 


Was  particularly  an  engraver  of  animal  sub- 
jects, fights  between  horses  and  bulls,  and  so  (3ctiVat 
forth,  from  his  father's  paintings.     He  did  not  ^o))]iilep 
do  many,  but  those  he  did  were  well  done.  S*tubb0 

1756-1815 

Showed  talent  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen, 
having   then   scraped  two   large    plates    which 
were  surprisingly  good  for  one  so  young.     He 
was  taught  the  art  from  his  father,  Philip,  but     ^fOrge 
did  not  continue  long  in  it,  prefering  the  paint-       -UauJC 
ing    of    portraits.      From    the    work    he    has  1/SI-IS29 
left   behind,   one   could   easily  believe   that  he 
might   have  become  a  scraper  of  prominence 
had  he  continued. 

The    foregoing    artists    were    more    or    less 
identified   with   the   great   mezzotinters   of   the 
eighteenth  century.     We  now  propose  to  add 
a  few  worthy  men  of  the  nineteenth  century    ^tUtani 
when   steel   was   more   in  vogue   than   copper.        Sap 
As  previously  stated,  the  first  person  to  intro-176S-lS3't 
duce   it   was   William   Say,   who    was    born   in 
1768.      When    twenty    he    became    a    pupil    of 
James    Ward.      His    early    work    was    closely 
identified   with   that   of  his   master.      Later   in 
life  he  changed  his  style,  owing  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  newer  method  of  work.    The  Brit- 


25 


ish  Museum  has  a  collection  of  all  the  plates 
he  executed  between  1795  and  1834,  presented 
in  1852,  eighteen  years  after  his  death,  by  his 
son.    It  is  noticeable  that  Say's  work  impresses 
one  with  a  presentment  of  the  decline  of  the 
art,  for  though  his  work  is  filled  with  richness 
l^illiam    and  beauty,  it  does  not  attain  the  high  merit 
^aj)        of  that  of  his  predecessors.     His  work  covered 
(C0ntinucl3)many    fields    of    composition,    including    por- 
traiture and  still  life  subjects.     He  did  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  people  of  his  time. 
The  practise  of  using  a  "  remarque  "  in  mez- 
zotint   originated   with    Say    and   his    contem- 
porary,  George   Chub. 


Born  in  the  West  Indies, 
Was  a  pupil  of  Hodges.     He  was  drawing- 
master  to  the  young  princesses,  daughters  of 
William  IV.,  and  received  the  appointment  of 
engraver  to  George  III.     He  was  a  most  rap- 
id worker,  and  finished  many  subject  and  por- 
trait  plates.     While  in  Paris,  where  he  lived  in 
MrpnoiuB   jg26^   he    established   a   great   reputation   as   a 
I77cj-lb.5i)p^jj^^gj.  ^g   ^gjj   ^g   ^  scraper   and   became   an 
exhibitor  at  the  Salon.     He  published  a  set  of 
small    mezzotint    illustrations    of    350    of    the 
portrait  paintings  by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  but 


§>amud 
^tlltam 


26 


of  these   many   were   engraved  by   his   pupils. 
One    of   them,    Samuel   Cousins,   said   that    he     ^amutl 
did  a  great  number;  in  fact,  we  have  seen  a    ^^iHtani 
great    many    with    the    autograph    of    Cousins    Kcpnoltia 
upon  them.   S.  W.  Reynolds'  pupils  were  David  (conttUtlcTl) 
Lucas   and  William  Whiston  Barney. 

Pupil  of  S.  W.  Reynolds.  This  artist  de- 
voted only  a  small  portion  of  his  life  to  scrap- 
ing, having  abandoned  the  profession  for  the    ^tlUam 


army,  in  which  he  became  distinguished  dur- 
ing the  Peninsular  War.  As  a  scraper  he  did 
some  admirable  work,  one  of  his  best  plates 
being  the  portraits  of  Lord  George  and  Lord 
Charles  Spencer,  after  R.  Cosway. 


^arnep 


This  artist  worked  in  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century  when  mezzotint  engraving 
passed  through  many  changes.  Turner's  work 
embraced  all  the  different  methods,  his  earliest 
work  being  the  pure  mezzotint  on  copper  or 
mezzotint  with  the  foundation  of  etching,  af- 
terwards  changing  to  the  mixed  method,   this 

•        •  •         1774  I^'^T 

being    a    combination    of    etching,    mezzotint,  i''t^'-i^^' 

stipple  and  aquatint  on  steel.  He  engraved 
nearly  700  plates  and  was  made  an  A.  R.  A. 
in  1828.  One  of  his  finest  plates  is  "  The  Ship- 
wreck," after  J.  M.  W.  Turner. 


Cljarlee; 
Curncr 


27 


This  artist  did  not  attain  a  very  high  level 
as  a  scraper,  but  did  some  very  commendable 
work.  He  worked  during  the  first  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  working  therefore  upon 
ULOOmaB  jjQ^^i^  copper  and  steel.  He  engraved  from  pic- 
ijOOgrrnB  ^^j-es  by  the  best  artists.  The  portrait  of  Prince 
I'alleyrand,  after  Schefifer,  represents  perhaps 
his  best  work,  although  Lawrence's  George  IV. 
full-length  portrait  is  a  very  good  example  of 
his  style. 


Sons  of  the  steel  engraver,  William  Bromley. 
John  Charles  attained  a  higher  place  than  his 
brother,  owing,  perhaps,  to  his  longer  and  more 
robust  life,  for  James  died  when  he  was  only 
thirty-seven,  having  in  that  time  produced  a 
number  of  very  commendable  plates,  princi- 
pally portraits,  while  his  brother,  John  Charles, 
directed  his  efforts  to  subject  pictures,  such  as 

1795-1839  "  The  Trial  of  Lord  William  Russell,"  after 
Hayter,  "  Lady  Jane  Grey  Refusing  the 
Crown,"  after  Leslie,  and  "  Entry  of  Welling- 
ton into  Madrid,"  after  Hilton.     Many  of  his 

I  SO  I  IS'SSP^"^^^^  ^^^  produced  in  the  mixed  method,  for 
he  lived  and  scraped  during  the  period  when 
steel  was  used  in  preference  to  copper. 


CI)arlcB' 


3l^amcfi; 
^rotnlcp 


28 


Was  a  pupil  of  S.  W.  Reynolds,  and  the  fav- 
orite engraver  of  Constable,  who  took  a  strong 
liking  to  him  when  he  was  very  young,  and  he 
afterwards  engraved  many  of  his  works.  Art- 
ist and  engraver  often  sat  side  by  side  working 
out  together  the  problem  of  translating  color 
into  black  and  white.  It  was  owing  to  this 
close  friendship  that  so  many  of  Constable's 
paintings  have  been  so  truthfully  translated. 
The  finest  mezzotint  of  a  landscape  ever  pro- 
duced was  the  one  scraped  by  Lucas  after  Con- 
stable's painting,  "  The  Rainbow."  Although 
his  work  often  looks  black  and  heavy  there  is 
great  power  and  his  renderings  of  Constable's 
morning  landscapes  with  their  broad  brush 
marks  are  wonderfully  like  the  originals  in 
sympathetic  feeling.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  greatest  landscape  of  artist  and  en- 
graver was  published  at  the  height  of  the 
painter's  fame  and  that  he  died  three  days 
after.  Lucas  devoted  almost  his  whole  life  to 
landscapes.  He  published  a  set  of  plates  of 
English  landscapes,  Constable  being  his  backer 
in  the  enterprise. 


Lncast 
IS02 

7 


29 


Pupil  of  George  Clint,  assistant  to  Samuel 
W.  Reynolds,  and  first  instructor  to  Samuel 
Cousins.  He  did  a  great  deal  towards  the  in- 
troduction  of  steel,  but  was  not  the  first  to 
rtS  ff  f  t  introduce  it.  He  was  awarded  for  his  efforts 
ri'r.  .J^zfJ'^y  the  society  of  Arts  the  Isis  Medal  in  1822. 
His  work  was  delicate  and  full  of  strength  of 
tone.  His  landscapes  and  sea  views  are  good. 
He  scraped  a  number  of  J.  M.  W.  Turner's 
sea  pieces,  and  three  of  the  Liber  Studiorum 
set. 

Pupil  of  Robert  Graves,  a  line  engraver.     He 

worked  in  line,  but  his  principal  plates  were  in 

mezzotint.     He   did  a  number  of  portraits   of 

3roI)n      leading  men  in  science,  literature,  etc.,  which 

Kicl^atB    were  fine  in  quality.     He  was  a  highly  finished 

^^acfeSOU  scraper;   in  fact,  was  the  best  of  the  modern 

l8l9=lS77men.    Nearly  all  his  portraits  were  of  men.   He 

scraped  a  number  of  subject  pictures  also. 


|)fnrp 

iHcpcr 

1783=1847 


Was  a  pupil  of  Bartolozzi  and  gained  a  good 
reputation  in  this  method.  His  mezzotints, 
which  numbered  about  fifty  portraits  and  a 
number  of  subject  pictures,  gained  for  him  a 
local  reputation,  but  were  not  of  the  highest 
order,  for  he  was  deficient  in  both  draftsman- 
ship and  execution.     His  best  known  plate  is 


30 


Miss  O'Neill  as  "  Belvidera,"  after  Davis.  He  focurp 
was  a  nephew  of  Hoppner  and  painted  a  nuni-  jHeper 
ber  of  portraits.  (continUCB) 

Was   an    engraver   in   stipple   as    well    as    in 
mezzotint.      In   the   latter   method   he   scraped 
about    100    plates,    mostly    private    ones.      He 
was  an  accurate  draughtsman  and  was  noted 
for  accurate  likeness  and  faithful  rendering  of     ^illi«int 
textures.     His  portraits  are  almost  entirely  of     ^nl^tV 
eminent  men,  only  one  woman  being  on  record,  1791-1867 
Lady    Charlotte    Schreiber,    a   well-known    art 
amateur. 

This  artist  scraper,  educated   at   the   Parish 
School  in  Exeter,  came  into  the  world  of  poor 
parents,  was  in  the  opinion  of  many  experts, 
the    greatest    mezzotint    scraper    of    the    nine- 
teenth century.     One  of  his  most  noteworthy     gianiucl 
features  is  his  wonderful  drawing.     He  scraped    CoUfiinS 
upon   the   soft   copper  in   the   early   days,   but|gQ|,|S07 
after    the    introduction    of    steel    in    1820,    he 
worked     almost     entirely     upon     the      latter 
metal.     The  requirements  of  the  harder  metal 
were   necessary   for   the   larger   production   of 
perfect  impressions.     He  did  much  to  improve 
the  method  of  work  with  the  result  that  the 
mezzotints     from    his    hand    have    much    more 


31 


Samuel 


of  the  quality  of  the  greatest  period  than 
any  of  the  nineteenth  century  men.  His 
first  work  was  done  when  he  was  only 
fourteen  years,  and  was  from  a  pencil  por- 
trait he  made  of  the  great  actor,  Edmund 
Kean,  being  at  the  time  a  pupil  of  S.  W.  Rey- 
nolds. The  drawing  of  this  portrait  was  made 
from  life  at  the  suggestion  of  S.  W.  Reynolds, 
a  great  friend  of  the  actor,  and  who  asked  him 
to  pose  for  it.  The  work  of  his  master  and 
his  own  were  closely  allied.  Many  plates  bear- 
ing the  name  of  S.  W.  Reynolds  were  done  by 
^OU£itn£i  iiiQ  younger  man.  He  received  more  honors 
(COTVttnuCujj-j^a^j-j  a,ny  artist  of  his  profession,  the  Royal 
Academy  honored  him  with  "  R.  A."  He  lived 
to  the  good  old  age  of  eigthy-six  years,  en- 
graving i8o  portraits,  fifty-seven  subject  pic- 
tures, and  eighty-nine  small  ones  from  paint- 
ings by  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  published  1820-24. 
His  eyesight  was  remarkable,  for  it  is  said  he 
employed  glasses  only  in  the  few  last  years  of 
his  life.  Cousins  never  engraved  a  portrait  by 
Gainsborough.  He  regretted  this  so  that  when 
the  Duchess  of  Devonshire  was  shown  him 
and  he  was  asked  to  make  an  engraving  of  it 
he  was  most  happy  that  the  opportunity  was 
presented,  even  though  so  late  in  life.    He  was, 


32 


however,    doomed    to    disappointment,    for    as 
is   well   known    this   picture   was   stolen.      The      ;^a]nttcl 
last  picture  engraved  by  Cousins  was  his  own    Coucins 
portrait  after  Edwin  Long,  which  was  Pointed  ('(0,^jimjP^\ 
in  1883  and  engraved  in  1884.     Most  of  Cous- 
ins' plates  are  done  in  the  mixed  method. 


33 


S'nUeji: 


Barney,  Wm.  Whiston 

27 

Lucas,  David 

29 

Beard,  Thos. 

8 

Lupton,  Thos. 

30 

Boydell,  Josiah 

22 

Bromley,  James 

21 

Marchi,  Guiseppi 

15 

"       John  Chas. 

28 

Meyer,  Henry 

30 

Brook,  J. 

9 

Miller,  A. 

8 

Burke,  Thos. 

22 

Murphy,  John 

19 

Cousins,  Samuel 

33 

Park,  Thos. 

22 

Pelham,  Peter 

8 

Dawe,  P. 

16 

Father,  Wm. 

15 

"       Geo. 

25 

Purcell,  R. 

10 

Dixon,  J. 

11 

Dickinson,  Wm. 

17 

Reynolds,  Sam'l  Wm. 

26 

Dean,  John 

20 

Dupont,  Gainsborough 

23 

Say,  Wm. 

25 

Dunkarton,  Robt. 

18 

Simon,  J. 

6 

Doughty,  Wm. 

21 

Spooner,  Chas. 

9 

Spilsbury,  Jonathan 

16 

Faithorn,  W. 
Faber,  J.  Jr. 

6 

7 

Stubbs,  Geo.  Townley 

25 

Finlayson,  John 

14 

Thomson,  Rich'd. 

4 

Fisher,  E, 

11 

Townley,  Chas. 

19 

Ford,  M. 

10 

Turner,  Chas. 

27 

Frye,  Thos. 

12 

Walker,  James 

20 

Grozer,  Joseph 

23 

Watts,  John 

14 

White,  G. 

5 

Hodges,  Chas.    H. 

23 

"        R. 

5 
5 

Hodgetts,  Thos. 

'     28 

Williams,  R. 

Hudson,  Henry 

22 

Houston,  R. 

10 

Young,  John 

24 

Jackson,  John 

30 

M. 

11 

34 


GOERCK      ART      PRESS 
7th  AVE.    AT    53d  ST. 


iiSffa 


^^      000  321824 


